By Tim Huff
President & CEO, TLG
As experts in leadership development with strong interest in the intersection of neuroscience and technology, we’re excited about the transformative opportunities Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are creating for today’s executives. While the future of AI is exciting, there are many immediate and tangible benefits to be gained from AI today that weren’t available even a short while ago. That’s why we’re dedicating our newsletter to exploring the synergy between human intelligence and artificial intelligence this month.
To kick things off, I’m sharing my Top 10 use cases for readily available AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot for busy executives. If you’re not using AI regularly throughout your day, you might be missing out on some game-changing ways to save time, boost effectiveness, and simplify your work.
Without further ado, here are my top ten recommendations.
- Drafting Emails and Communications. Struggling to find the right words for that tricky email? AI tools can quickly generate professional drafts based on a few bullet points or a general idea. Whether it’s responding to client inquiries, crafting team updates, or sending follow-ups after meetings, AI can help you save precious minutes while ensuring clarity and tone.
- Summarizing Reports and Documents. Executive life involves sifting through mountains of information. Large Language Models (LLMs) can take lengthy reports, meeting notes, or industry articles and provide concise summaries, highlighting the most critical points, even customizing the summary for specific points of interest.
- Brainstorming and Idea Generation. Need inspiration for a presentation, campaign, or strategy? AI can act as a creative partner, generating ideas and exploring angles you might not have considered. By feeding it your objectives and constraints, you can unlock fresh perspectives in minutes.
- Drafting Presentations and Slide Content. Creating presentations can be time-consuming. AI tools can help draft outlines, suggest slide content, and even provide visuals or data points based on your input. While it won’t replace your judgment, it can give you a strong starting point, cutting down preparation time significantly.
- Meeting Preparation. Heading into a critical meeting? Use AI to generate a quick briefing document that includes key data points, talking points, and anticipated questions. You can also ask it to create hypothetical scenarios or solutions to potential challenges you may face in the discussion.
- Analyzing Data. Executives often need to make sense of raw data to drive decisions. AI tools can analyze datasets, identify trends, and even visualize key insights. Whether it’s sales figures, employee engagement data, or market trends, LLMs can help translate numbers into actionable insights.
- Crafting Policies and Guidelines. Drafting company policies or employee guidelines can be tedious. AI can provide templates or even full drafts for policies related to remote work, communication protocols, or compliance, saving you the hassle of starting from scratch.
- Writing Speeches or Public Statements. For executives who frequently speak at events or issue public statements, AI can help craft compelling narratives tailored to your audience. Whether it’s a keynote address, a motivational speech, or a press release, these tools can help you polish your message.
- Delegating Tasks More Effectively. Delegation is an art, and AI can make it easier by helping you outline clear, actionable task descriptions for your team. By defining deliverables, timelines, and resources upfront, you can reduce back-and-forth communication and set your team up for success.
- Personal Development and Learning. Staying sharp as a leader requires continuous learning. AI tools can act as personalized learning assistants, summarizing books, articles, or even entire courses. They can also generate quizzes or practice scenarios to reinforce new skills, helping you grow without carving out extra hours.
Of course, as with any technology, the value is only as good as what goes into it. Crafting the right inputs, or prompt engineering, is a skill that is becoming more critical. But the good news is that the AI tools can even help create excellent prompts!
Why These Tools Matter for Executives
The value of AI tools lies in their ability to offload routine or time-intensive tasks, allowing executives to focus on high-impact activities like decision-making, strategy, and relationship-building. However, it’s crucial to use them as aids—not as replacements for critical thinking or human judgment.
As you integrate AI into your workflow, consider starting with one or two use cases that align with your daily challenges. Gradually expanding their role will allow you to harness their power without feeling overwhelmed.
By leveraging tools like ChatGPT or Copilot, executives can reclaim hours of their day and amplify their effectiveness. In an era where agility and efficiency are paramount, these tools may well become indispensable allies in your leadership journey.